Abstract

Background - Chickpeas are a common constituent of many ethnic diets and are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), dietary fibre and resistant starch. However, little information is available regarding the effects of regular chickpea consumption and their health effects.
Objective - To compare the effects of a diet supplemented with chickpeas to a wheat-supplemented diet of similar fibre content and a wheat based diet of low fibre content on serum lipids, glucose tolerance, satiety and bowel function.
Design - Twenty-seven free-living adults followed two randomized, crossover dietary interventions each of five weeks duration. The chickpea diet included canned chickpeas (140g/day), bread and biscuits containing 30% chickpea flour. The diets were isoenergetic to the participants' usual diet, matched for macronutrient content and controlled for dietary fibre. Following on from the second randomised intervention, a sub-group of 18 participants underwent a third lower-fibre wheat diet. End of the diet comparisons were made by repeated measures ANOVA for serum total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL-C), glucose and insulin concentrations. Perceived bowel health and satiety were also measured.
Outcomes - Reductions in serum TC of 0.25 mmol/L (p< 0.01) and LDL-C of 0.20 mmol/L (p=0.02) following the chickpea diet compared to the wheat diet. An unintended significant increase in PUFA and corresponding decrease in MUFA consumption occurred during the chickpea diet and statistical adjustment for this reduced the effect on serum lipids by about 50%. There was no significant difference in glucose tolerance. Perceived general bowel health improved significantly during the chickpea diet although there was considerable individual variation. Greater satiety was reported by some participants but was not significantly different between the diets.
Conclusions - The small but significant decrease in serum TC and LDL-C during the chickpea diet compared to the wheat diet was partly due to unintentional changes in macronutrient intake occurring because of chickpea ingestion, but could still provide a valuable health benefit.